How can SMB3 be so fun after 20 years of playing it?

[Damon Plus]

I'm replaying SMB3 for probably the 100th time. And it still is fun for me. After playing it since 1991, I still love the colors chosen for the stages, the graphics, the music (despite the low amount of tracks), the sense of discovering its hundreds of secrets hidden in each and every stage. This is nothing new, as lots of people think the same, but it's awesome this game still feels like one of the best platformers ever. When the only flaws you can find in a game is its lack of save feature and the overworld map pipes being not that useful, you know you are in front a very special game, that comes maybe once in a lifetime, a work where its creators were truly inspired and created a masterpice.

Lots and lots of games have been released since then, and some are between my favourites. But SMB3 is (along with Sonic 2 ) one of the only games I still play through it completely twice a year and then some stages at least each month.

[MarioMania]

Still a good game to me

[joshnickerson]

How can SMB3 be so fun after 20 years of playing it?

Simply put, because it's ****ing awesome.

[BlastProcessing402]

When the only flaws you can find in a game is its lack of save feature

You mean after 100 times you haven't moved on to the All Stars or Super Mario Advance versions?

I know, some people are purists and must have original form no matter what. No that there's anything wrong with that

[Johnny_Rock]

I wonder about this sometimes too. Some games I can replay almost infinitely and others I can't play more than once regardless of how good I thought they were.

I don't think it has to do with quality exactly. I've played Resident Evil 2 probably 15 times but to be honest I don't think the game is that good. The graphics didn't age well at all, the controls are pretty awkward, the story is often poorly handled but there's just something in the aesthetics of it that makes it completely charming to me.

On the other side, there's a lot of RPGs that I loved but probably wouldn't ever play again. I think this is where the "pick up and play" factor comes in. Genres like platformers or most action games are pretty straightforward and don't really have any particularly dull or stretched out moments. The straightforwardness also seems to help recreate the original experience of playing the game, where some games you finish with "your experience" and you can't ever quite enjoy the game as much as the first time.

I guess a lot can be said for quirky simplicity.

[Sunnyvale]

I'm replaying SMB3 for probably the 100th time. And it still is fun for me.

Yup. Like a good song, it don't get old as long as you don't beat it to death.

[substantial_snake]

Sonic 3 & Knuckles is like this for me as well.

No matter what genra I'm into at the time its always fun to go back and play that game for a while.

I really like SMB3 but I don't have nearly as many nostalgic memories attached to it as I do the sonic series so its not quite there for me. However I think solid gameplay along with challenging and interesting levels makes it infinitely fun. I always loved the crazy auto-scrolling airships the most in that game.

[The 1 2 P]

This is how I feel about Spy Hunter. That game is pretty much the same thing and yet it never gets old. And I agree that SMB3 is an awesome game no matter how many times you play it.

[treismac]

I always loved the crazy auto-scrolling airships the most in that game.

It adds a nice tension to the action doesn't it?

[The Dord]

I'm replaying SMB3 for probably the 100th time. And it still is fun for me. After playing it since 1991, I still love the colors chosen for the stages, the graphics, the music (despite the low amount of tracks), the sense of discovering its hundreds of secrets hidden in each and every stage. This is nothing new, as lots of people think the same, but it's awesome this game still feels like one of the best platformers ever. When the only flaws you can find in a game is its lack of save feature and the overworld map pipes being not that useful, you know you are in front a very special game, that comes maybe once in a lifetime, a work where its creators were truly inspired and created a masterpice.

Lots and lots of games have been released since then, and some are between my favourites. But SMB3 is (along with Sonic 2 ) one of the only games I still play through it completely twice a year and then some stages at least each month.

Kid Icarus and Metroid do the same for me. I love playing them both again after all of these years!

(I also enjoy playing Ganbare Goemon from time to time as well.)

[Orion Pimpdaddy]

The reason I like SM3 is because of all the secrets. There a robust number of stages, so I never remember where everything's hidden, which is a good thing. Every time I play it, it's feels like a new game.

[Duke.Togo]

I have to agree, this is near the pinnacle of 2D platforming. It would be hard for me to decide if this or SMW is the best.

I have the same feeling with Castlevania III. It's almost always the first game I throw in my NES when I play.

[T2KFreeker]

All I can say about this is that I agree, and I generally "HATE" the Super Mario games. I don't like the first two, nor do I like SMW, SM64, that Game Cube thing or SM Sunshine either. The ONLY Mario games I have ever enjoyed are the original Mario Bros., the third Super game, and the Mario Kar5t games. I dunno, was just never a fan, but Super Mario Bros. 3 is an excellent example of some awesome platforming genius going on there. Still a classic for sure.

[old man]

The only thing wrong with SMB3 is that there's only one stage where you get Kuribo's shoe. I mean WTF nintendo?

[Kevincal]

Mario 3, one of the greatest video games of all time for sure. I remember begging my mom to buy it for me at k-mart, she did, on the way home my friends were playing in the street. I whipped the game out of the bag and put it against the car window with a huge grin on my face . They came over to check it out. Good times. I think it is Miyamotos best game.

[calthaer]

I give SMB3 an edge over SMW because the number of suits in SMW was really too limited. Frog and Tanooki and Hammer suits were pretty awesome, even if they were rare - maybe awesome because they were rare. Kuribo's Shoe, because it was rarer, was even more awesome.

You really do owe it to yourself to play the GBA version, and to use an e-Reader to import the extra levels they designed for the game. New castles, airships, and the ability to give yourself any powerup in the game - even to give yourself the Cape Feather from SMW, if you so desire - was pretty wicked.